In recent years, evangelical Christians have been seen as staunchly unsympathetic to immigrants. This view is somewhat merited: A 2017 poll found that three-quarters of white evangelicals supported the “travel ban” preventing refugees and others from Muslim-majority countries from entering the U.S.
But evangelical views on immigration are far more nuanced than most people realize -- and polling results on policy do not tell the whole story.
In my leadership of World Relief -- the humanitarian arm of the National Association of Evangelicals -- I have witnessed firsthand how evangelical Christians across the U.S. serve the vulnerable foreign-born in their communities in remarkable ways.
Church groups welcome refugees at the airport. Church-based volunteers minister to asylum seekers trapped for months in detention centers. ESL teachers spend their evenings in church basements with immigrants eager to learn English. And individuals and families within churches offer support to refugees over the long process of integrating into a new culture to become independent and flourishing members of their communities.
